Historic Bars in Philadelphia by Colby Wright https://padlet.com/cashcowwright/qlwkcgyezmle Taverns, communities, conversations. en-us 2019-12-02 22:23:11 UTC 2025-02-23 22:19:47 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet.net/icons/png/1f37c.png City Tavern cashcowwright https://padlet.com/cashcowwright/qlwkcgyezmle/wish/418788598 The City Tavern was commissioned to be built in 1772 by fifty-three “prominent citizens”. The tavern was designed to be reflective of the prosperous and grand nature of Philadelphia itself. The tavern opened its doors in December of 1773 and featured five levels, including not only dining areas and bars but also a ballroom and lodging quarters that could be rented. In 1774, Paul Revere arrived at the tavern with news that Parliament had shut down the port of Boston. In turn, the tavern became the meeting place for three hundred prominent citizens in order to select of committee of Correspondence. The tavern became the unofficial meeting place for the likes of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and John Adams in between Continental Congress meetings that took place at Carpenter’s Hall. While British troops used the tavern to house prisoners of war between 1776 and 1777, America’s first fourth of July celebration occurred at the tavern in 1777. One month later, George Washington establishes the City Tavern as a three-day headquarters for the Continental Army. Since, the Tavern has been home to many organizations and important national celebrations. However, the building caught fire in 1834 and was subsequently razed in 1858. Later, in 1948, the site of the tavern was designated by congress as part of the Independence National Historic Park. The park rebuilt the tavern according to period images and documents in 1975. Walter Staib was granted permission by congress to operate the tavern, and has been doing so since 1994. Staib has had a PBS show titled “A Taste of History” since 2009. This site essentializes the “great man” narrative of history, boasting itself as the congregation for specific, primarily white male, figures who shaped Philadelphia. The site’s relation to prominent white men in Philadelphia granted it absolution from being truly destroyed in the 1834 fire, as the government desired the site as a narrative about the importance of civic engagement in Philadelphia by preserving a public space that shaped the nation’s possibilities.]]> 2019-12-02 22:25:04 UTC https://padlet.com/cashcowwright/qlwkcgyezmle/wish/418788598 McGillin's Olde Ale House cashcowwright https://padlet.com/cashcowwright/qlwkcgyezmle/wish/418791927 McGillin’s Olde Ale House was opened in 1860, the same year Lincoln was elected president, by Catherine and William McGillin and claims to be the “oldest continuously operating tavern in Philadelphia”. Originally, the Ale House was called the Bell in Hand Tavern. Catherine and William were immigrants of Irish descent who raised their thirteen children in the upstairs of the building and became known as “Ma” and “Pa”, respectively, to their patrons, who furthermore referred to the tavern as “McGillin’s”. The name, infinitely more Irish and personal than the previous, stuck, as Ma and Pa also raised their thirteen children above the bar. In 1871, the City Hall began building just two blocks from McGillin’s and was completed in 1901. McGillin’s displays each of its liquor licenses since 1871, showing their pride in both location and historicity. McGillin’s also displays signs of businesses that were built near the bar but were outlasted by it, illustrating its endurance. In 1910, McGillin’s changed its name to include Olde Ale House. During the prohibition, Ma was running the bar due to Pa’s death and hired a chef to masquerade the bar as a restaurant. In 1937 Ma turned 89, news that made public press, illustrating the greater Philadelphia communities’ support of this Irish establishment. One of Ma’s daughters, Mercedes McGillin Hooper took over the bar to continue its traditional Irish ownership and heritage. In 1859, however, the bar was purchased by two brothers who did vow to continue and preserve McGillin’s history.]]> 2019-12-02 22:34:24 UTC https://padlet.com/cashcowwright/qlwkcgyezmle/wish/418791927 Pen & Pencil Club cashcowwright https://padlet.com/cashcowwright/qlwkcgyezmle/wish/418794388 During the 1890’s, Philadelphia’s journalistic sentiments began to peak, with the city boasting seven morning papers and six nightly papers daily. In the face of such output, journalists and writers were growing weary and overworked. In 1892, Pen and Pencil Club emerged as a location for a private literary community to unwind over drinks and conversation.  The Club has moved locations five times, but now rests in Latimer Street. The Pen and Pencil Club was an amalgamation of several pre-existing literary communities, such as the Stylus Club, The Journalist Club of Philadelphia, and the Reporters Club. These groups all shared similar sentiments about the importance of press and of free speech, and the Pen and Pencil club was meant to serve “as an oasis, a home, a place of relaxation.” The website boasts about several notable faces that spent time at the club, such as President William Taft, composer George M. Cohan, Red Smith, and Damon Runyon. These figures are all noticeable white and male, signifying the traditional clientele of the Club as well as the club’s sentiments about itself and its own communities. One menu from 1906 pairs not only drinks with dishes available, but also cigarettes. This Club clearly markets itself towards the literary and the elite, even going so far as to have an exclusive membership. While there were surely more requirements for the members upon establishment, in modernity anyone can join the Pen and Pencil Club for $40. Perhaps this is to fund the literary events and community organizing done by the Pen and Pencil Club, or perhaps this fee is meant to weed out only those who are passionate about literature and the literary community. Regardless, this Club illustrated not only the niche community building that bars engaged in to provide forums for like-minded citizens, but also the exclusivity of some such clubs that cater to primarily white and male clientele. However, spring of 2019 saw the first African American female president of the Club, Bobbi Booker, take office. ]]> 2019-12-02 22:42:29 UTC https://padlet.com/cashcowwright/qlwkcgyezmle/wish/418794388 National Mechanics cashcowwright https://padlet.com/cashcowwright/qlwkcgyezmle/wish/418794612 While only a decade old years old, the National Mechanics restaurant and bar is located where the Mechanics National Bank had previously been in the old city. The Bank was built by William Strickland in 1837, and the National Mechanics restaurant relates to historicity through its architecture. The website states that the National Mechanics building is a “place molded by time” due to the influence that several gothic periods had on the building. 
Not only preserved for its architecture, this bar is proud of its heritage as a bank. The National Mechanics bank was established in 1810 by middle class workers such as artisans and craftsemen who desired a bank built by their money and catering to their needs. The name harkons to the middle class, illustrating its allegiance to those whose wage is built by a trade. The bank was built by a large number of small shareholders instead of several large shareholders, itself a community establishment that belonged to many and for many. The Bank was remodeled in 1836 by William Strickland, who had connections to the bank’s directors, who implemented a Greek Revival style. This revitalization was meant to remind the public of the power the craftsmen had, and to show that they were just as cultured as the city’s elite. In 1864 the bank did start catering itself to larger corporations and industry, but never left its original clientele in the dust. In 1930, post-depression, the bank was closed and sold to become the Norwegian Seamana Church. The bank was registered as a national historic landmark in 1961. Later, in 1982, the bank became the club “Revival”, which operated as an after-hours club that played music such as Joy Division and The Clash. Since Revival’s close in 1996, the bank has hosted several businesses of varying success. In 2006, the bank became the National Mechanic’s Bar, which attempts to respect the bank’s history while moving it into the future. The story of this building shows how historical architecture is valued by groups and organizations of all kinds, from monetary to religious to drinkers. The bank’s rich history speaks to the impact that the craftsmen had on the city when they decided to take their monetary positions into their own hands. Both the architecture and the founding of this building resonate with Philadelphia’s diverse past and the differing community goals amongst its citizenship.
]]> 2019-12-02 22:43:13 UTC https://padlet.com/cashcowwright/qlwkcgyezmle/wish/418794612 Tavern on Camac / Maxine's cashcowwright https://padlet.com/cashcowwright/qlwkcgyezmle/wish/422393447 Maxine’s, now called the Tavern on Camac, is the oldest continually operating bar in Philadelphia that caters itself to the LGBTQ+ community. Camac, known as Dean Street in the 19th century, was a center for the literary and artistic folks who desired a historic look to their bars and restaurants. The congregation of artists grew into what the public deemed a bohemian district, fostering the uknown and the controversial. Maxine’s emerged as a speakeasy in this area during the 1920’s ran by Ed King, though due to its illegal past the exact date is unknown. At this time, there were over 12,000 speakeasies in Philadelphia, as Philadelphians relied upon taverns and bars for community conversations and to observe their own civic duty. Camac street became a haven for the new emerging minority of gays in Philadelphia and was termed “Philadelphia’s Greenwich Villiage, Maxine’s became a legitimate “gentelman’s club” after the prohibition. WWII expanded the clientele from local gays to sailors and GI’s. In the 1970’s, Maxine’s experienced a drop in popularity due to its “seedy’ nature. The bar was purchased from Ed King by a gay couple in 1982 and was called “Raffles”. In 1999, another gay couple purchased the bar and renamed it “Tavern on Camac”. While the name and the interior did shift, hosting a variety of different performances upstairs and a cozy restaurant in the basement, this location has been preserved by members of the LGBTQ community that see the value in a communal space for a historically oppressed identity.]]> 2019-12-10 19:42:40 UTC https://padlet.com/cashcowwright/qlwkcgyezmle/wish/422393447 Paddy's Pub cashcowwright https://padlet.com/cashcowwright/qlwkcgyezmle/wish/422406028 The episode “The Gang Cracks the Liberty Bell” features the gang entering the Philadelphia Historical Society and claiming that their bar was operating during 1776 and played a crucial role in the Revolutionary War. The bar, then Patrick’s Pub, was used by revolutionaries as a place to covertly discuss anti-British sentiments. The episode then flashes to a historic Patrick’s, featuring Dennis reading “The Way to Wealth” by Benjamin Franklin. The gang, certain that the revolution will lose, attempts to draft a “Declaration of Dependence” to Britain. This is a parody of City Tavern’s role in drafting the “Declaration of Independence” and points out the absurdity of placing value in a piece of paper simply because it contained ideologies of elite white men. Frank and Charlie sell faulty guns to the British, which results in Colonel Cricket’s head being shot off and the subsequent cracking of the Liberty Bell. Seeing as the bell cracked between 1816 and 1846, the Historical Society member rejects the gang’s appeal to historical value. This episode serves as a critique of the great-man narrative as well as of placing value in objects such as the liberty bell. The Gang, all white and heterosexual (barring one), attempt to claim relevance for their ancestors as being white and crucial to the nation. Even though the liberty bell was cracked due to Patrick’s they claim that anything involving the Liberty Bell must be of historical value. Furthermore, this episode speaks to the idea that civic engagement was very much occurring in pubs across Philadelphia and then goes on to show how some communities might use this notion to turn a profit. ]]> 2019-12-10 20:04:42 UTC https://padlet.com/cashcowwright/qlwkcgyezmle/wish/422406028 The Mask and Wig Club cashcowwright https://padlet.com/cashcowwright/qlwkcgyezmle/wish/422529140 Founded in 1889 by University of Pennsylvania student Clayton Fotterall McMicheal his like-minded peers, the Mask and Wig Club is the oldest all-male collegiate musical comedy theater troupe. The Club was established as a way for these elite young white men, the only ones allowed at college at this time, to pursue their unique passions regarding the stage and showmanship. The Clubs principle goal, since founding and into modernity, is “Justice to the stage; credit to the University”. The troupe, due to its all-male cast, frequently engaged in drag performance and themes of the burlesque in general. This was not the most widely accepted form of performance at the time, as theater was dominated by classic dramas. After the first show, which received great public support, the Club began being funded by a group known as the Graduate Club, past students of the University of Pennsylvania who sought to continue the all-male theater tradition. In 1894 the Club had enough support to purchase its present location, and furthermore hired the esteemed architect Wilson Eyre to design the space. In 1908, after much success, the Club purchased a dormitory on the University of Pennsylvania quad that is still known as “Mask and Wig”. Throughout the century, the Club continued its prosperity and produced hit songs such as “Route 66”, receiving covers from the likes of Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald. In the 50’s, however, this style of theater fell out of grace from America’s idealized nuclear family and cultural stability. Nonetheless, the Club persisted and continues to produce two original works each year. This Club, established and supported by elite white males, provided a community for those who did not fit into the typical societal molds of this category and sought to expand. Nonetheless, the persistence of the Club can certainly be granted to privilege of the collegiate class who established and ran it. ]]> 2019-12-11 02:08:07 UTC https://padlet.com/cashcowwright/qlwkcgyezmle/wish/422529140